A sensored grate is a selective barrier with apertures there through. The apertures in the sensored grate, for instance, can be sized to restrict a human from passing through the apertures, while permitting a smaller animal to pass and water to flow through the apertures. The sensored grate can be equipped with an internal sensor that detects severe bends and complete breaks in the structure of such grate. For example, the internal sensor can indicate that a potential intruder is attempting to defeat the barrier formed by the sensored grate by breaking the structure of the grate, bending the structure of the grate to enlarge an aperture formed there through, or the like.
Sensored grates can be used in various security fencing applications. For example, such applications can range from securing culverts to forming segments of security perimeters, particularly through marshes, streams, and littoral zones. Sensored grates can also be used to detect vibrations of the grates; however, such vibration detection may be unsuitable for applications where a frequency of nuisance alarms may be high (e.g., water flow areas and areas where there is an absence of animal control).
Some conventional sensored grates include hollow structural elements that can be connected to form a framework. The hollow structural elements oftentimes are steel tubes. Assembly of such conventional sensored grates commonly involves connecting the steel tubes, and lacing an optical fiber through hollow cores of the steel tubes. However, these conventional sensored grates constructed of steel tubes can be expensive due to material costs and heavy because of the weight of the material. Moreover, such conventional sensored grates may be unsuitable for water applications, since a leak in a steel tube can allow water to fill the hollow cores within the grate and surround the optical fiber. Further, performance of the conventional sensored grates can be unpredictable; for example, how quickly the sensored grate can detect a bend or how far the structure of the sensored grate has to be bent prior to detection can vary depending upon positioning of the optical fiber within the hollow cores of the steel tubes during assembly.